Where do the Chefs in KC eat and drink?

Over the years, I had heard stories about The Spotted Pig restaurant in New York City. I had heard that this was a place where the kitchen stayed open until 2 am serving the best greasy burgers and home cooked dishes like rabbit pot roast, calf liver, pork rilletes, and other snout to tail classics.

Their official press says they serve seasonal British & Italian food using local ingredients when possible. Bloggers in NYC happily report when they have seen Chef and Co-owner of The Spotted Pig, April Bloomfield, at Union Square shopping for fresh and local produce.

Because of her late hours and the soothing, yet challenging, protein parts she works with night after night, Chef April's Spotted Pig has become a frequent hang-out for Chefs from other restaurants. When they are done with their shift and ready for a drink and a home cooked meal, they go see April. It is their hang out, it is where they feel comfortable and understood, it is where they like to catch up with other and it is where they like to EAT.

The Spotted Pig has an even more famous claim to fame in its private third floor dining room, where for a hefty fee you can bring a small party and have Chef April prepare for you, a special entree, of say, pig jowls and sauteed bitter greens and garlic.

Anthony Bourdain took us inside this experience on his show No Reservations when he did New York City last season.

How cool it would be to be THE restaurant where other Chefs wanted to come and hang out for a drink and a meal? Imagine the huge statement it would make about you and your skills as a Chef to have your place be "THE PLACE THE CHEFS GO." I think when I win the lottery this would be my goal, to have the place the Chefs want to hang out when they are off duty.

Next logical question for me was: So, where do the Chefs in Kansas City eat? Because wherever that place is . . .is the place I want to be . . to eat, drink and converse with culinary-minded people.

I decided the best way to suss out this secret hidden den of culinary royalty in KC would be to ask the Chefs themselves where they like go.

I started with my friend and current foodie crush, Chef Josh Eans, from The Drop located on Martini Corner. Josh is also the culinary force behind their second location Blanc Burgers and Bottles which opens March 20 at 5 pm. Blanc Burgers and Bottles located at 419 Westport Rd. – between Starbuck’s and Blayney’s, features gourmet burgers and fries served in a seriously glamorous all white restaurant. They will also feature over 150 bottled beers. I can't wait to taste the burger love when these guys open their doors.

As Josh comes out from the kitchen to sit next to me at the bar, he says goodbye to a gentleman who had been sitting across from me enjoying a late night dinner. Once, he is gone, Josh says to me . . .Did you meet Chef Rob Dalzell's Dad? What? No! Oh Crap! Maybe next time.

So, I asked Josh where the Chef's go to eat in KC he said that when they were first planning the opening of The Drop they hoped with their limited but creative bar menu and late night hours that THEIR place would be THE place the Chefs in KC would gravitate toward, but in his mind it hasn't really materialized.

Josh said: "I think everyone who cooks for a living would love to be THAT place. It would be an honor."

No sooner does he say that when Ernesto, the co-owner and bartender that night at The Drop, comes over and tells him there is a table in the other room that he should visit. Josh smiles, and politely excuses himself and heads into the other room for the meet and greet. When he returns he says he just met Chef de Cuisine of Justus Drugstore, Jeff Scott, who is in visiting The Drop because Jonathan and Camille have closed the restaurant for the week for everyone to recharge their culinary juices. And he chose to visit The Drop? Interesting.

A week later, I am emailing with Executive Chef and James Beard Award winner Celina Tio from The American about her Share our Strength fundraiser called A Tasteful Pursuit. This event held at The American on March 30, raises money nationally to feed hungry children in our country. The event will have a denim preferred theme and you can walk around and sample food from several well known Chefs in Kansas City and other restaurants across the country, with all of the money going to charity.

During our discussions, she invites me to join her and her family for breakfast to discuss this event - at Room 39 on 39th Street. Hmmmm, Executive Chef at The American has breakfast at Chef Ted Habiger's restaurant Room 39.  Of course, once I meet Celina for breakfast, I realize that Ted and his wife are good friends with Celina and her husband, along with Colby and Megan Garrelts, Chefs and Co-owners of Bluestem. They all have cooking for a living in common, and they all have kids about the same age. It is a small community and apparently a tight one.

It is through my breakfast meeting with Celina that I meet Chef Ted, and invite him to participate in a TV commercial I am filming to promote Forks & Corks, a food and wine tasting event benefiting Harvesters our local Kansas City food bank.

This event features Chefs from over 40 different restaurants in Kansas City preparing small plates for you to sample along with many new wines specially selected for this event. This year Forks & Corks will be held at the Grand Ballroom in the Kansas City Convention Center on April 24, 2008, tickets are on sale now. :)

Ted enthusiastically agrees to help saying to me on the phone: "Anything for Harvesters." When I tell him he will be in good company that we also have Chef Michael Smith also willing to be in the commercial, Ted responds, "Great, he is in the restaurant right now having lunch." REALLY? That's two for Room 39.

Once Ted shows up on the set to film the commercial it is clear he is a rock star, nailing every line and came prepared with stuff to cook on set. He is relaxed and smiling and loves being in front of the camera, and I love him for it.  Yes, new secret crush is now forming for Chef Ted, be quiet, I know, I know . . .shhhhh, I am trying not to be too obvious about it.

So, I tell Ted about my desire to know where the Chefs in KC go to eat when they get off their shift and close their restaurants at night. I ask him if his place is THE place . . .after all two Chefs have now been documented eating at his place.

He gives me a shy smile and tells me, that Kansas City is a small town but a supportive town and that all Chefs in KC eat at each others places . . .it is what you do as Chefs and how you learn what others are doing.  He knows his place isn't the only one in town, he just wants to make good food everyone will enjoy, not just Chefs.

When I ask him about The Spotted Pig in New York and late nights in the restaurant business, he tells me that when he was younger and as a new Chef working in a bigger city that had more of a late night scene, he always went somewhere for a drink or a bite after work to relax and socialize.

But now, as a husband and father working in the Midwest as a Chef, home is usually where he wants to be at the end of a busy night. Celina Tio and Josh Eans also mentioned the desire to go home to their children and spouses after a long day sounds more appealing to them than going out.

I suppose it happens to all of us eventually, the need for late night entertainment diminishes as family time becomes more the focus . . . no matter what you do for a living. I also think that we should be excited about this development, because what it means is many talented Chefs may start their cooking careers abroad or on either coast, but many seem to eventually, when they get married and start a family, come back to the Midwest for the quality of living it affords.

Most of the best restaurants in Kansas City also have a husband and wife working together either in a front of the house/ back of the house capacity or perhaps even side by side in the kitchen. It can be a tough job to have and keep a happy home. Better that you both be involved in the journey than to try to go it alone.

Although, I didn't find any ONE place where the Chefs in KC go to eat, I think it is safe to say if you go to any place that prides itself on fresh, local and creative cuisine and you will find the Chefs eating there . . .and perhaps a Foodie in the making as well.

UPDATE: I can honestly report that the places where the Chefs go in Kansas City to eat and drink after a hard nights work . . .if they are not going home to their families, is ANYWHERE THAT IS FREAKIN' OPEN. There is no mystery to this puzzle at all after my experience last night. Man, this is one of the things that is not always a plus about living in KC, the sidewalks do literally roll themselves up after 10 pm in this town, and on a Sunday night? Well, FORGETABOUTIT! I was lucky enough to have been invited by some Chef friends to roll with them last night . . .we went to the Cashew until they closed down, then to Harry's in Westport until they closed down. We talked about eating a burger at Town Topic, then we talked about Fric and Frac's . . .but ultimately went  to the Falafel Truck in Westport to eat and then home and in bed by 5:00 am. Forget about partying like a rock star, party like a Chef and you will understand why no one wants to be on the schedule to open the restaurant in the morning.